Earn money each time you unlock your smartphone with Locket

Smartphones have become a way of life for millions around the globe. On any given day, it wouldn’t be uncommon for someone to unlock and check their phone dozens of times or more. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could actually earn some sort of reward for doing so (outside of being able to place a call, send a text or look something up on the web)?

That’s the idea behind a new Android app called Locket. The free app rents out the space on your lock screen and replaces whatever image you have with an advertisement. Each time you unlock your phone to check your e-mail or play a game, you earn money. Sounds easy enough, right?

The app asks you to enter some basic information such as age, gender and location in order to feed relevant ads. Each time you swipe to learn more about an ad, you earn money. Granted, you only get one penny per swipe and payouts are limited to three swipes – or three cents per hour – it can add up over time and you can even earn extra money for referring others to the service.

In theory, if you looked at three ads every hour of every day for the next year, you’d earn $262.80. A much more reasonable example would be looking at three ads for 12 hours a day each day. At that rate, you would accrue just over $130 – all of this without referrals. You will earn $1 for each person that joins and installs Locket on your behalf. In the event you have a lot of friends or family on Android devices, this could be a quick way to earn some easy cash.

Those interested can download the Locket beta app from Google Play. No word yet on when or if it will be heading to other platforms.